{"id":23,"date":"2013-10-07T13:34:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T13:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/professional-liability\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/"},"modified":"2019-06-03T15:41:03","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T15:41:03","slug":"ten-carat-engagement-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Carat Engagement Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"<table border=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-117\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/professional-liability\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s-300x204.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"181\" height=\"123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s-175x119.jpg 175w, https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 181px) 100vw, 181px\" \/><\/td>\n<td><strong style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><em>\u201cI never\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><em>worry ab<\/em><\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><em>out diets. The only car<\/em><\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><em>rots that interest me ar<\/em><\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><em>e the number you get in a diamond.\u201d \u00a0-Mae\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><em>West<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Engagement rings signify commitment between two people who intend to bind themselves to one another under the law.\u00a0 They are the worldly manifestation of a relationship.\u00a0 For lawyers, entering into an attorney-client relationship can be just as binding and weighty a decision, and last year the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Ethics decreed that all lawyer\/client relationships require a written engagement letter.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The new Rule provides that a lawyer <em>must<\/em> memorialize in writing \u201cwithin a reasonable time after commencing the representation\u201d the scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible.\u00a0 Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.5(b).\u00a0 The only exceptions to this requirement are (a) with a regularly-represented client who will be charged on the same basis or rate, (b) single-session legal consultations, (c) where the attorney reasonably expects the total fee will be less than $500, or (d) when an indigent representation fee is imposed by a court.\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Id.<\/span>\u00a0 Just like the four Cs guide the purchase of an engagement ring \u2013 carat, cut, color, and clarity \u2013 some guidelines apply to a well drafted engagement letter.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Format of Communication<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The engagement can be memorialized in a letter, a memorandum, or even an email.\u00a0 While it is always a good practice to have the agreement signed by both the attorney and the client \u2013 and especially where the agreement contains some commitment by the client, such as to arbitrate fee disputes or to furnish a retainer \u2013 the Rule does not require a client\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Scope of Representation<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It seems obvious, but a client needs to be told what you will be doing for the client <em>and<\/em> what you will not be doing.\u00a0 <em>See, e.g.<\/em>, Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.2 (\u201cA lawyer may limit the objectives of the representation if the client consents after consultation.\u201d).<\/p>\n<p><em>Example<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cWe will represent you solely in connection with Adversary Proceeding No. 13-XXXX pending in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Massachusetts.\u00a0 Our acceptance of this engagement does not involve an undertaking to represent you or your interests in any other matter or in connection with providing any tax or financial advice or advice with respect to insurance issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Basis or Rate of the Fee and Expenses<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If rates will be hourly, then the specific rate should be set out in writing.\u00a0 Many attorneys include in their letters a statement that hourly fees are increased periodically.\u00a0 Before actually charging the new rate, however, you should advise the client in writing that rates are being increased.<\/p>\n<p>If a flat fee is going to be charged for certain services, the letter should be clear as to what services will actually be rendered and what events will trigger the payment of the fee(s).<\/p>\n<p>Expenses also must be described in sufficient detail.\u00a0 If a lawyer does not plan to charge actual out-of-pocket cost, he or she must explain how expenses are calculated.<\/p>\n<p><em>Example<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cWe will include on our statements separate charges for out of pocket expenses such as expenses for photocopying, messenger and delivery service, computerized research, travel, long-distance telephone and telecopy, and search fees.\u00a0 In litigation matters, our expenses may also include filing fees, deposition costs, process servers\u2019 fees, court reporters and witness fees, which will also be billed separately on our statements.\u00a0 The charges for our out-of-pocket expenses will not be marked up or discounted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Other Items to Consider<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Retainer.\u00a0 Beyond specifying the amount, it is a good practice to advise whether the retainer will be held as security or whether you will bill against it (and when\/if it will be replenished).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Arbitration of Fee Disputes.\u00a0 Since collection actions filed in Superior Court are often met with a malpractice counterclaim, it is worth considering a provision that all fee disputes be resolved at the Massachusetts Bar Association Legal Fee Arbitration Board.<\/li>\n<li>T<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">ermination.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Example<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cOur engagement may be terminated by either one of us upon written notice to the other. \u00a0Your termination of our services will not affect your responsibility for payment of outstanding invoices and for accrued fees and expenses incurred before termination or in connection with an orderly transition of the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the engagement is terminated by either side, the attorney must memorialize this in writing.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No Guarantee of Success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Example<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cIt is impossible to provide any promise or guarantee about the outcome of the Litigation.\u00a0 However, during the course of this engagement, we may express opinions or beliefs to you about the effectiveness of various courses of action or about the results that might be anticipated.\u00a0 Such statements are expressions of opinion only, and should not be construed as promises or guaranties.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Estimate of Fees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Example<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cThe fees and costs relating to this matter are not predictable.\u00a0 Accordingly, we have made no commitment to you concerning the maximum fees and costs that will be necessary to resolve or complete this matter.\u00a0 Any estimate of fees and costs that we may have discussed represents only an estimate of such fees and costs.\u00a0 It is also expressly understood that payment of the firm\u2019s fees and costs is in no way contingent on the ultimate outcome of the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI never\u00a0worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.\u201d \u00a0-Mae\u00a0West Engagement rings signify commitment between two people who intend to bind themselves to one another under the law.\u00a0 They are the worldly manifestation of a relationship.\u00a0 For lawyers, entering into an attorney-client relationship can be just [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ten Carat Engagement Letters - Law Firm Defense<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ten Carat Engagement Letters - Law Firm Defense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI never\u00a0worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.\u201d \u00a0-Mae\u00a0West Engagement rings signify commitment between two people who intend to bind themselves to one another under the law.\u00a0 They are the worldly manifestation of a relationship.\u00a0 For lawyers, entering into an attorney-client relationship can be just [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Law Firm Defense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-10-07T13:34:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-03T15:41:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"306\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sherin and Lodgen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sherin and Lodgen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sherin and Lodgen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b\"},\"headline\":\"Ten Carat Engagement Letters\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-07T13:34:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-03T15:41:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":884,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/40552517_s.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ten Carat Engagement Letters - Law Firm Defense\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/40552517_s.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-07T13:34:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-03T15:41:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/40552517_s.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/40552517_s.jpg\",\"width\":450,\"height\":306,\"caption\":\"40552517 - one diamond isolated on a white back ground\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/07\\\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ten Carat Engagement Letters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/\",\"name\":\"Law Firm Defense\",\"description\":\"Law Firm Defense News from Sherin and Lodgen\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b\",\"name\":\"Sherin and Lodgen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sherin and Lodgen\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/author\\\/wp\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ten Carat Engagement Letters - Law Firm Defense","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ten Carat Engagement Letters - Law Firm Defense","og_description":"\u201cI never\u00a0worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.\u201d \u00a0-Mae\u00a0West Engagement rings signify commitment between two people who intend to bind themselves to one another under the law.\u00a0 They are the worldly manifestation of a relationship.\u00a0 For lawyers, entering into an attorney-client relationship can be just [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/","og_site_name":"Law Firm Defense","article_published_time":"2013-10-07T13:34:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-03T15:41:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":450,"height":306,"url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sherin and Lodgen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sherin and Lodgen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/"},"author":{"name":"Sherin and Lodgen","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#\/schema\/person\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b"},"headline":"Ten Carat Engagement Letters","datePublished":"2013-10-07T13:34:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-03T15:41:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/"},"wordCount":884,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/","name":"Ten Carat Engagement Letters - Law Firm Defense","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s.jpg","datePublished":"2013-10-07T13:34:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-03T15:41:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#\/schema\/person\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/10\/40552517_s.jpg","width":450,"height":306,"caption":"40552517 - one diamond isolated on a white back ground"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2013\/10\/07\/ten-carat-engagement-letters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ten Carat Engagement Letters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/","name":"Law Firm Defense","description":"Law Firm Defense News from Sherin and Lodgen","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#\/schema\/person\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b","name":"Sherin and Lodgen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sherin and Lodgen"},"url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/author\/wp\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}